Denver Police Chief Robert White addresses an audience of community members after he took his oath of office Monday at the City and County Building. Joining him was Alex Martinez, left, recently named to head the Safety Department.

Denver's new police chief, Robert White, right, shares a smile with son Randall while his wife, Valerie, stands nearby following White's swearing-in ceremony Monday. Among his remarks at the event, White said police departments throughout the country have failed to publicly address the concerns of their communities when allegations of unnecessary or excessive force surface.

Denver’s new police chief, Robert White, took the oath of office Monday, vowing to usher in a new era of trust and respect between police and a community stunned by several high-profile brutality cases.

White, who left the same job in Louisville, Ky., to come to Denver, said he plans to build on work done by his predecessor, Gerry Whitman, who held the job for 12 years.

White said Whitman, who returns to the rank of captain, did a great job. But the new chief also said he expects to improve on it.

“We will be a better department than we have ever been,” White told a crowd of police brass and city officials at his swearing-in ceremony. “. . . I agree with (Mayor Michael Hancock) that this is a good Police Department, but we are going to make it a great Police Department.”

The image of Denver’s police force has been tarnished by video of officers throwing a seemingly cooperative man to the ground outside a Lower Downtown bar. Other incidents also raised questions about police brutality and resulted in the firings of a string of officers.

White said he will work to change the culture among officers who, some have asserted, refuse to speak up when colleagues brutalize civilians.

Al LaCabe, the city’s former safety manager, testified recently that while it is rare for a cop to hurt someone in custody without reason, it is an accepted part of doing business for a small number of officers. And even good cops are reluctant to turn in officers who engage in excessive force.

“I honestly believe the great majority of the men and women in the Police Department want to do the right thing,” White said during an interview at police headquarters before the ceremony.

White said those who engage in unnecessary violence will be held accountable. But he will also support the overwhelming majority of officers, who he said do a good job.

At his swearing-in, he said police departments throughout the country have failed to publicly address the concerns of their communities when allegations of unnecessary or excessive force surface.

Instead of addressing such incidents publicly, police brass often hunker down and say little. The resulting lack of transparency turns what should be a one-day story in the media into a 10-day story, he said.

The delay in speaking up leads to more mistrust, he said. If there is respect between the department and Denver’s citizens, people who disagree with a chief’s decisions will still respect them, White said.

In picking White, Hancock bypassed an applicant favored by rank-and-file cops, Division Chief Tracie Keesee. Following White’s appointment, e-mails raising questions about incidents in his past circulated throughout the department and were passed along to City Council members.

Still, police union president Nick Rogers said Monday that White’s arrival is cause for optimism.

“I think it is a good day for the city of Denver,” Rogers said. “Change can be good, and we look forward to working with the chief, and hopefully we can put some of the negative things that have occurred in the past behind us and move forward.”

White’s arrival comes as the city’s public-safety arm is in the midst of change.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Alex Martinez recently was named to head the Safety Department, which includes Denver’s police, fire and sheriff’s departments. Also, Denver’s independent monitor, Rich ard Rosenthal, who oversees police investigations of alleged wrongdoing by officers, is leaving Denver to take a job in British Columbia.

Martinez has final say on discipline, but White and the monitor recommend punishment when officers violate department rules or the law.

The department is going through a sea change, said City Councilman Paul Lopez. White, Lopez said, “seems very sincere in his new role, and hopefully we can give him all the tools he needs to prevent crime and keep the badge untarnished.”

Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said he is looking forward to working with White.

Morrissey said he doesn’t believe there is a problem with the culture of the department — he said every law enforcement agency in the country has to deal with occasional cases of excessive force.

“This whole culture of the Police Department, in my view, is a myth,” he said.

White expects to make some changes to the department’s command structure, although on Monday he wasn’t sure what they might be.

“It appears to be a little top- heavy for me,” he said. “It will be clearer in time.”

White said he believes his arrival opens a window of opportunity that will close if he doesn’t make changes quickly. Officers and their superiors understand that he will make changes, and some fear that.

“Many people don’t like change,” he said. “When you rattle that cage a little bit, they get a little uncomfortable, but they expect it. If you wait too long, people become complacent and routine sets in again.”

A general assignment reporter for The Denver Post, Tom McGhee has covered business, police, courts, higher education and breaking news. He came to The Post from Albuquerque, N.M., where he worked for a year and a half covering utilities. He began his journalism career in New York City, worked for a pair of community weeklies that covered the west side of Manhattan from 14th Street to 125th Street.

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